1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a central lock or buckle for safety belts, especially for use in aircraft and sports cars, for the rapid and at the same time releasable connection of several belts which are provided with connection members and which come together at a central point; the lock has an external bead behind which the connection members can catch, which in the process can freely align themselves in the respective belt-pulling direction; the lock also has control elements for fastening the connection members, for holding them securely in place, and for releasing them, with these control elements being operatively coupled with a manually operable rotary member, preferably a rotary disk, which is disposed over a central or main stud in conjunction with which the various movements in the lock occur.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Central locks having similar features are disclosed in German Auslegeschrift No. 12 75 875, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,376 Pallocks, issued Sept. 13, 1983 and belonging to the Assignee of the present application. These heretofore known locks are of the so-called bell lock type, modified forms of which are also disclosed in Great Britaian Pat. No. 758 185, and Belgium Pat. No. 498 365. The important feature of these locks is that the belt connection members can be attached not only at one specific location of the lock, as is the case, for example, with the lock disclosed in German Auslegeschrift No. 10 02 632, but rather can, within a certain range on the lock, starting from the middle point thereof, automatically align themselves in the actual pulling direction of the pertaining belt strap, so that there is achieved an improved seating of the overall belt harness taking into consideration the particular body mass of the person wearing the harness.
To fulfill their purpose, and in connection therewith for proper handling, the more recently known central locks have three positions of their operating devices, namely the positions "fasten", "secured", and "release". The most common type of actuation of the central locks, is the manipulation of the operations by turning a rotary disk and exerting a pressure on the lock toward the body of the person. A lock of this type is disclosed in the aforementioned German Auslegeschrift No. 10 02 632, which concerns a construction having four spring-loaded anchor bolts, which are held by a guide cross, and securing disks. However, this lock also has a main stud, which is displaceable at right angles to a base plate and acts upon the guide cross as well as the securing disk. Mounted to the top of the main stud is a circular rotary disk with which the various lock operations can be manipulated. A rotary actuation by means of a rotary disk or other rotary member has also already been proposed for central locks of the bell type, i.e. with a circumferential edge bead for catching hook-shaped connection members at any desired location, and with a lock part which for this purpose is mounted so that it can wobble. Another older proposal has a central lock with appropriate ones of the aforementioned features, and according to which the rotary member is provided with a linearly displaceable device, preferably a push button, which can be operated with finger pressure and which, by means of at least one transfer element, is provided for the temporary release of arrested components which effect the securing of the belt connection members. The finger push button is springloaded counter to the direction in which it is pressed, and again effects a lock position when it returns to its starting position.
Due to their construction, these heretofore known or already proposed central locks are relatively thick, i.e. they have a relatively great structural height. Consequently, these locks stick out from the body of the person wearing the harness, and can thus not only be an obstruction, but can also collide more easily with adjacent objects, so that erroneous operations or injury are not precluded or made impossible and out of the question. Furthermore, some of the heretofore known locks have the drawback of having a large number of components, which not only increases the cost of assembly, but also adversely affects the ability of the lock to function.
An object of the present invention is to provide a central lock for safety belts, with the aforementioned general features, whereby not only the structural height but also the number of components are as low as possible, without thereby adversely affecting the reliability of the lock itself, and its ability to be handled.